Target for golf driving practice



Dec. 14, 1965 TADASHI TAKATA 3,222,931

TARGET FOR GOLF DRIVING PRACTICE Filed June 17, 1963 I km /6 .L

c INVENTOR L" 52 BY 5 %/MMM% ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,222,931 TARGET FOR GOLF DRIVING PRACTICE Tadashi Takata, 6S Honcho Himejishi, Hyogoken, Japan Filed June 17, 1963, Ser. No. 288,318 Claims priority, application Japan, June 20, 1962, 37/331,455 1 Claim. (Cl. 73-379) My invention relates to a target for golf driving practice for use where only a relatively small area is available, as for instance, in back yards or on the flat roofs of apartment houses. The main objective of this invention is to help a beginning golfer in practicing his driving by providing a device which indicates when and how hard a ball hits the target, and, when the ball goes wide of the target, the direction in which it Went.

Still another objective of my invention is to provide a target which may be shifted vertically so that the golfer may practice drives intended to carry for different distances.

Other objectives will be in part set forth and in part obvious from the following description of a preferred embodiment of my invention, which will be described in connection with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of my new target with parts of the shields broken away to show the structure therebehind;

FIG. 2 is a side view, taken from the left of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an indicator circuit which may be used in carrying out my invention.

Like reference numerals denote like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that my new target comprises a stand provided with two vertical pillars 1, each of which has a narrowed portion 1a. A frame 2 carries at each side a vertical sleeve 20: dimensioned to slide on the narrowed portions of the pillars. A cord 18 is attached at one end to the frame 2 and at its other to a sprocket reel 17, provided with a handle 17a, so that the frame may be raised or lowered by turning the handle. A curtain 3 is fixed at its top to the frame 2 and wound at its bottom on a roller 4 which is spring biased to retain the curtain taut. A target may be painted on the curtain. Alternatively, the curtain may be in the form of a net and the target may be painted on a board or plate 5 carried by the frame and visible through the net, as shown in FIG. 1. This avoids the possibility that the target may sway in the wind.

When the curtain is struck by a golf ball, the roller 4 will be turned against the resistance of its spring and its rotation can be used to actuate an indicator, which will indicate the force of the impact as a function of the number of degrees through which the roller turns. For instance, turning of the roller can close a succession of contacts, each of which rings a bell, so that the force of the impact may be indicated by the number of rings. A1- ternatively, a visual indicator may be supplied.

In front and outwardly of the curtain a plurality of shields 6, 7, 8, 9, may be provided on the arms attached at the frame 2. Each shield should be of resilient material, or yieldingly mounted, and the number of shields 3,222,931 Patented Dec. 14, 1965 provided will depend upon how accurately it is desired to have the direction of error indicated. The shields may overlap, or meet each other exactly at their adjacent ends, as desired.

Each shield is provided on its back with a vertical cylinder 10, of electrically conductive material. The ends of the cylinder 10 are closed by plugs 11 and 12, made of an insulating material. A ball 13 of electrically conductive material is suspended by means of an electrically conductive wire from the upper plug 11 and connected by a spring 14 to the lower plug 12. As shown on FIG. 3, the wire supporting the ball 13 is connected to one terminal of a battery 20, the other terminal of which is connected (through the actuating solenoid 19 of a relay) to the cylinder 10. The relay has two sets of contacts 15, 15', which are both closed when the solenoid 19 is energized, which happens whenever the ball 13 strikes the wall of the cylinder 10, due to movement of the shield to which that cylinder is attached, as a consequence of its being struck by a golf ball. Closing of the contact 15' lights the lamp 16, while closing of the contact 15 completes a holding circuit which keeps the solenoid 18 energized, and consequently keeps the lamp lit. The relay is provided with a built-in timer which automatically opens the circuit through the contacts 15 after a predetermined time has elapsed.

Each lamp may be positioned behind a translucent portion of the associated shield, or housed in a protective cage projecting outwardly therefrom.

Instead of the lamps, audible alarms may be provided, arranged to sound a different note for each shield.

What I claim is:

A golf driving practice device comprising a frame, a flexible net positioned to receive a driven ball and attached at one end to one side of said frame, a shaft rotatably mounted on the opposite side of said frame and upon which the opposite end of said net is wound, said shaft being spring biased to turn in a direction which maintains said net taut, an indicator for indicating the force of an impact against said net, said indicator being responsive to rotation of said shaft, a target positioned behind and visible through said net, a plurality of shields positioned about the periphery of said net, an indicator for each shield actuated when said shield is struck, an electrical circuit connecting each shield and its respective indicator, a switch in said circuit adapted to be closed when said shield is struck, holding means for temporarily retaining said switch in its closed position, and timer means for automatically releasing said holding means after a predetermined period of time.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 799,697 9/1905 Webb et al 273102.2 1,371,820 3/1921 Sochurek 73379 1,761,317 6/1930 Strasser 273 2,011,014 8/1935 Rosengarten 273181 3,091,466 5/1963 Speiser 73379 FOREIGN PATENTS 408,944 4/ 1934 Great Britain.

RICHARD C. QUEISSER, Primary Examiner, 

